1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a card issuing system for issuing an updated card such as a credit card having a validity period, and more particularly a card issuing system capable of restraining occurrence of a loss of discarding a card once produced due to issue cancellation, etc.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 12 shows a diagram illustrating a flow of issuing a credit card (which may simply be referred to as card in the following description). As shown in FIG. 12, conventionally, when reissuing the card of which validity period is to expire shortly, a card company prepares card issue data several months before the expiration date, using a card issuing system based on the list of the cards to expire. Each card issue data includes print information to be printed on the card face (with embossed finish), such as name, card number and validity period, mailing address information such as an address of the card owner, and the like. The prepared card issue data is forwarded to a card production factory. Based on the card issue data, the card production factory produces a card, which is then attached to a pasteboard having printed name and address to be mailed to, enclosed into an envelope for mailing, and mailed to the card owner immediately before the expiration date of the original card. Generally, a few months are required from the start of the procedure for issuing a new card until the card owner receives the issued card.
FIG. 13 shows a diagram illustrating card production processing in the card production factory. On receiving the card issue data from the card company for the number of cards to be issued, for example, on a monthly basis, the card production factory produces a predetermined number of cards every day. Thus, the card production factory spends a predetermined number of days (for example a few weeks or the like) on producing the entire cards for the month. Thereafter, the entire cards having been produced are stocked and managed in the card production factory for a certain period of time (from a few days to a week or the like), and then the cards are mailed to the residences of the card owners.
However, there often arise cases that issue of a card has to be canceled during a period from the time the card company started the card issue procedure to the time the card is actually produced (this period of time is hereafter referred to as ‘card production process period’), as described above. Such cancellation of card issue is caused by a request from the card owner, a credit problem of the card owner, or the like. In such cases, when the issue of the card once produced is canceled, the card is to be discarded. This produces wasted card issue costs, as well as card discarding costs.
Furthermore, there may be cases that transfer of the card owner or address change is carried out during the card production process period. In such cases, for example when address change occurs in regard to a card already produced, an additional work in the card production factory is necessary, which includes searching the envelope for enclosing the produced card, opening the envelope, inserting a new pasteboard having a new printed address into the envelope again, etc.